For Generals Jeramie Marek, it's a long wait for history

Jeramie Marek is one hit away from history. Too bad he'll have to wait almost eight months for a chance at it.

The outfielder for the Victoria Generals finished his first season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with a 22-game hitting streak, one shy of a new school record, and won't get a chance at setting it until the Islanders open their season in February 2011.

But Marek isn't sweating it.

"It was good, it carried over from my freshman year," he said. "It's something for me to look forward going into my sophomore year. It's kind of exciting."

The soon-to-be sophomore carved out a niche as the Islanders lineup as the team's starting centerfielder and lead off hitter, and has found consistent playing time with the Generals so far this year as well. He is hitting .207 so far this summer, but sports a respectable .324 on-base percentage. At Corpus Christi, he batted .283 in 53 games with an on-base percentage of .343.

Generals coach Chris Clemons said Marek adds an element of speed to the lineup.

"He's been doing a great job for us in the outfield. I like having Jeramie in the lineup becausehe can run and do a lot of things with the bat," he said. "He's getting more comfortable with the wooden bat and doing a great job for us."

He was able to become a starter for the Islanders his first season. He said it was an exciting time for him, but also accompanied with some nerves.

"It was definitely nerve-wracking," Marek said. "It was a different role coming from high school to college. ... I didn't really have very much time to be nervous. I had to step in and play my role."

One of the biggest challenges Marek said confronted him when he started playing for Corpus Christi was the speed of the game.

He started out slow, but was able to adjust to it.

"I wasn't really ready for the speed of the game," Marek said. "But after the first few games I picked it up well."

Marek said his goals are to improve his game overall.

"Going from a different coach style with how Coach (Chris Clemons), I'm just trying to take it and better my game."

Clemons said that Marek was someone general manager Blake Koch brought to Victoria. He said he hadn't seen his resume before the season, but has been impressed with his play.

"Jeramie was a guy that Blake Koch got on to bring him onto the Generals," he said. "I didn't know him, but his resume is good. Jeramie's just a baseball player."